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The Better Veteran
Maximize Your Benefits. Optimize Your Life.
April 15, 2026
This past Tuesday night, I posted my newest tool - the Military Retirement Pay Calculator - in a Veteran Benefits group.
By Wednesday morning, 750 of you had signed up. That's the most single day/night subscriber boost I’ve had since starting this back in February. The Better Veteran went from 560 subscribers to 1,250 (and climbing!) overnight. Couldn’t be more grateful to have you join the party. I take the privilege of being able to provide veterans the best resources possible very seriously.
I am not going to pretend that was the plan. I simply wanted to show more people that there’s an alternative option for retirement calculators that are better than the garbage on .mil sites and to also stress test the accuracy. Then a friend - who is a retired E-7 - ran his actual numbers through it and said it came back within $25 of what DFAS pays him. Then I posted it. Then all of you showed up.
Live reaction of me opening up my account
So… Welcome! Here's what you walked into.
For the OGs: Here's the Newest Tool
If you've been here since the beginning, through the salary translator, the VA combined calculator, the state benefits tool, this one's been a long time coming.
I built the most comprehensive military retirement calculator I couldn’t find (because it doesn’t existing without payment). All four retirement systems (High-3, BRS, Final Pay, REDUX), Reserve/Guard/AGR, Chapter 61 medical retirement, CRDP vs. CRSC side-by-side with an actual verdict, SBP, state income tax for all 50 states plus territories, TRICARE value, Social Security estimate, and a lifetime projection to age 85 (and the reason I cut it off there is that by the time you get to 85, you should just be happy to be here).
A friend of mine, who is a retired E-8, ran his actual numbers through it and it came back within $25 of what DFAS pays him. Then he said - and I'm quoting directly - "this calculator is awesome, idiot proof, and makes an excellent planning tool. Way better than the current calculators out there."
A few things that make this one different:
CRDP vs. CRSC comparison — if you have combat-related disabilities, the tool runs both options side by side and tells you which one produces more take-home pay for your tax rate. This is the section the E-8 specifically called out as the most useful part.
Scenario comparison — not sure whether to retire at 20 or push to 22? Enter both and see a side-by-side with a break-even calculation. Most veterans are surprised by how long extra years take to pay off.
Chapter 61 combat-related tax-free — if you were medically retired for combat-related disabilities, your entire pension is tax-free under 26 USC § 104(a)(4). Check the box and the numbers adjust. Most calculators miss this entirely.
State tax treatment — 33 states (plus territories like Guam and Puerto Rico) either have no income tax or fully exempt military retirement pay. The tool shows you what your state costs you.
SBP with the correct math — the widow's tax is gone as of January 2023. DIC no longer offsets SBP. A lot of financial planners still don't know this.
Enter in your personalized scenario starting at the top - rank, TIG, YOS, retirement system, projected disability rate, etc - scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find what you can expect your total take home once you get that sweet, sweet DD-214
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For the ~750 of You Who Just Showed Up: Here's What You've Been Missing
You found us through the retirement calculator. What you might not know is that it's one of eight free tools I've built. With the singular focus of one thing: putting actual dollar amounts on the benefits the VA, DoD, and your state owe you.
No vague "you may be eligible" language. No PDFs. No portals. Just your numbers, for your situation, on one screen.
Here's the full suite of what we’ve got so far…
The VA doesn't just add your ratings together. A 50% + 30% doesn't equal 80% — it equals 65%. The VA uses "whole person" math that most veterans don't understand until they see their award letter and the number is lower than expected. This tool shows you exactly how VA math works, step by step, and calculates your combined rating before you file.
If you have a bilateral condition (both knees, both shoulders), it applies the bilateral factor automatically, something most VA calculators skip entirely. You also have a condition look up that has 100+ with C&P Exam tips, different percentages for each claim, and a quick add feature that allows you to add it to your estimate for you.
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100% Permanent and Total isn't just a higher monthly check. It unlocks CHAMPVA for your family, property tax exemptions in most states, Chapter 35 education benefits for dependents, commissary access, federal student loan forgiveness and more. This tool calculates the full lifetime dollar value of your P&T rating — not just the monthly comp, but everything that comes with it.
For a married veteran with two kids and a $350K home, the total P&T package can exceed $150,000/year when you factor in CHAMPVA, property tax exemptions, and education benefits. Most veterans only know about the monthly check, but that’s truly scratching the surface. I have a daughter in the NICU, her bill is going to be easily north of $2.5 million. I will pay $3,000 because of CHAMPVA. You don’t know about it until you need it.
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All 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories ranked by total estimated annual financial benefit for your specific VA rating, home value, retirement pay, and civilian income. The tool covers property tax exemptions, income tax treatment of military retirement pay, vehicle registration exemptions, education programs for dependents, and more.
The "right" state depends entirely on your numbers. A 100% P&T veteran with a $350K home saves over $10,000/year more in New Jersey than in Texas — because New Jersey's full property tax exemption is worth more in a high-tax state. That's not intuitive. That's why the tool exists. The math is the math, but that doesn’t stop me from still hating New Jersey.
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Your military compensation is not your base pay. BAH, BAS, tax advantages, TRICARE; when you add it all up, an E-7 at 12 years in a mid-cost area is making the equivalent of a $95,000+ civilian salary. Most veterans lowball themselves in salary negotiations because they only think about base pay. This tool shows you the real number so you negotiate from the right starting point. I took quite a pay cut when I took my first civilian job thinking that I crushed the transition game. I was very wrong. Don’t short change yourself!
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VA loan vs. FHA vs. conventional - side by side. The VA loan's zero down payment and no PMI saves most veterans $200–$400/month compared to FHA on the same home. The tool calculates your monthly payment, total interest, and lifetime savings for each option so you can see the difference in actual dollars. This one hurt the most to build because I found out just how much I left on the table by using the VA Loan with 20% down thinking I was making a good choice. If you read the newsletter edition for this tool, you’ll see the exact numbers that shows how much I messed up.
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The GI Bill comparison tool on VA.gov shows you rates. It doesn't show you strategy. If you have a service-connected disability rating, VR&E (Chapter 31) can cover your tuition while you keep the GI Bill's higher housing allowance AND get your GI Bill months restored. The sequencing strategy can be worth $40,000–$80,000 over the course of an undergraduate + graduate education. This tool tells you which benefit to use, when, and why. This is the strategy that I used in order to get full tuition covered at a Private, Ivy League Undergrad and a top 10 MBA program + getting paid to do so.
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If you're considering an MBA on the GI Bill, or a graduate degree at any top 20 University, this tool compares programs side by side; tuition coverage, Yellow Ribbon gap, monthly housing allowance by location, and total out-of-pocket cost. The difference between two MBA programs can be $50,000+ depending on Yellow Ribbon participation and location. This tool does the math before you commit. It shows you how much you make as a current service member, what you could be making with your disability rate brought into consideration, Monthly Housing Allowance, and what you could be making from an outcome salary of a top 20 MBA program. It also goes over the Department of Education’s Total and Permanent Disability discharge program that forgives all of your federal student loans if you’re a 100% P&T veteran.
What's Coming Next
I build these because I needed them. I was the veteran running numbers in spreadsheets, guessing at my benefits, and not knowing what I was leaving on the table. Every tool in this suite exists because the government version either doesn't exist, hasn't been updated in a decade or two, or is too confusing to be useful. While all of this information is publicly available, if you don’t know where to look or what to look for, you can find it here with me talking about it.
More tools are coming. If there's a benefit you're trying to figure out and can't find a good calculator for, hit reply and tell me. The best ideas come from the people who actually need the answer.
In the meantime, share the one that's most useful to you. Forward this email. Drop a link in your unit group chat. The veterans who benefit most from these tools are the ones who haven't found them yet.
Talk soon,
Zak
The Better Veteran is free, forever. If something here has already saved you money — this is just a way to say thanks.
Stay informed. Stay empowered. -- The Better Veteran Team
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or medical advice. All estimates are based on 2026 DoD pay tables, VA compensation rates, and publicly available state benefit data. Tools are for planning purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or benefits advice. Always verify with official VA, DFAS, and state sources for your specific situation.
